Courtesy of Judith Gregg Librarian Catherine Arbogast heads out with a personalized book delivery from the Los Altos main library.

Love of learning and curiosity about the world sometimes grow only more urgent as a person spends more and more time at home, limited by age, health condition, or both. Librarians head out from the Los Altos main l...

Already known as an innovator in the tech field, Google Inc. is now moving in on the art world.

The Mountain View-based company July 11 launched the “Paint the Town” contest, a “moving art experiment” that invites California residents over the age of 13 to submit physical or digital artwork that would decorate the door...

Traci Newell/Town Crier The six-week, tuition-free Stretch to Kindergarten program, hosted at Bullis Charter School, serves children who have not attended preschool. A teacher leads children in singing about the parts of a butterfly, above.

courtesy of Rishi Bommannan Rishi Bommannan cycled from Bates College in Maine to his home in Los Altos Hills, taking several selfies along the way. He also raised nearly $13,000 for the Livestrong Foundation, which supports cancer patients.

The Town Crier’s recent article on coyotes venturing down from the foothills in search of sustenance referenced the organization Project Coyote (“Recent coyote attacks keep residents on edge,” July 1). Do not waste your time contac...

Photos by Alicia Castro/Town Crier Local residents participate in an exercise class at the Grant Park Senior Center, above. Betsy Reeves, below left with Gail Enenstein, lobbied for senior programming in south Los Altos.

Grace Wilson Franks, our beloved mother and grandmother, left us peacefully on July 16, 2015 just a few weeks short of her 92nd birthday. She was born to Ross and Florence (Cruzan) Wilson in rural Tulare, California on Septem...

Most of us have a place inside our hearts and minds that occasionally causes us trouble. For some, it is sadness, depression or despair. For others, it may be fear, anger, resentment or myriad other emotional “dark places” that at times seem to hij...

In one of Tom Clancy’s novels – I forget exactly which one – there’s a moment when someone who doesn’t believe in God realizes that atheism has taken away a higher being to be grateful to.

That thought has long been bouncing around my brain – people who do not believe in a higher power have no one to thank for their many blessings. And believe me, if you are reading the Town Crier, you are likely to be more blessed than most people on this planet.

We have clean water to drink, whenever and wherever we want; our lights come on when we flick the switch; we experience no brownouts or blackouts on a regular basis; and we don’t live in a war zone. We are very blessed.

The tendency we have as humans is to admit that, yes, we are blessed, but not as blessed as ... fill in the blank. Then, because we are comparing ourselves to the wealthiest in the world, we come up a little short and feel that complaining is appropriate. But really, we should be comparing ourselves to the people in our society with the least: the least power, the least resources, the least education. Then, comparatively, we are incredibly blessed.

Don’t miss that thought this year around your Thanksgiving table. We here are incredibly blessed. I’m sure you and I have even more to be thankful for than clean water and electricity.

So this Thanksgiving, I would urge you to thank someone other than yourself for your blessings. Thank your family, who supported and loved you all these years. Thank your co-workers for their contributions to your work and success. Thank your neighbors for being good neighbors. Thank your spouse for loving you in good times and in hard times. And do take some time to thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon you. Be grateful. It is a nice quality.

Finally, be thankful in a real way. In Genesis, God tells Abraham that He is blessing him in order to be a blessing to others. A great way to be grateful is to use your blessings to help others. Collect some food to donate to those in need. Contribute to a homeless shelter. Buy a toy for a child whose family is struggling so that Christmas can be a little better. Give thanks, and bless others.

The Rev. David Moore is pastor of Union Presbyterian Church of Los Altos, 858 University Ave. For more information, call 948-4361 or visit unionpc.org.

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